Chris Oyakhilome is the founder and president of LoveWorld Incorporated, also known as Christ Embassy, based in Lagos, Nigeria.
Ministry and theology
Oyakhilome's ministry holds meetings in the United Kingdom and the United States, and has "healing school" sessions in South Africa and Canada. He was also the first to pioneer a Christian-based television network from Africa to the rest of the world. He also held the largest single night event held in Nigeria in 2005 with 3.5 million people in attendance "Good Friday Miracle Night". Oyakhilome also hosts Higher Life conferences in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, UK, US and Canada, and organized the Night of Bliss South Africa event at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg. Oyakhilome also operates an International School of Ministry, which held one of its Ministers' Network Conferences in 2016 with 5,000 ministers in attendance from 145 countries, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Oyakhilome runs an online prayer network using social media to send messages to Christians in several countries. He had over 1.2 million followers on Twitter in 2013, over 1.9 million followers on Facebook, and operates a smartphone messenger called KingsChat. Oyakhilome is also the author of the daily devotional "Rhapsody of Realities". In 2015, Oyakhilome was given an honorary doctorate from Ambrose Alli University, and Benson Idahosa University. In 2017, Oyakhilome, in partnership with Benny Hinn, created the Christian cable channelLoveWorld USA.
Personal life
Oyakhilome was born on 7 December 1963. He is the eldest son of the family of Tim Oyakhilome. In 1991, Oyakhilome married Anita Ebhodaghe. They had two daughters. Anita Ebodaghe filed for divorce on 9 April 2014 at the Central Family Court in London. After the separation, they also decided to share custody of their two children. They divorced in February 2016 after 25 years of marriage on the basis of "Unreasonable Behavior." On 6 October 2018, Oyakhilome's first daughter Sharron Oyakhilome, married Phillip Frimpong; a Ghanaian man, and her mother was reportedly absent. In 2011, Forbes estimated Oyakhilome's personal wealth as between $30 million and $50 million.
Philanthropic work
Oyakhilome operates the Inner City Mission Project, which works to assist orphaned and indigent children in inner cities in several countries. The organisation is under the auspices of the Chris Oyahkilome Foundation, which works to help the poor and those in the inner cities. They send relief materials to countries when disasters strike and work with government parastatals to improve social wellbeing. The Chris Oyakhilome Foundation is one of the major sponsors of the in Africa managed by pushaboo, an organisation spearheading the care of mothers and babies around the world. Other agencies supported by Chris Oyakhilome Foundation International are the Volunteer Medical Corps, Trauma Care International Foundation, InnerCity Mission for Children, Future Africa Leaders Foundation and the Bible for All Mission.
Honors
Oyakhilome has an honorary doctorate degree in divinity from Benson Idahosa University. He is a graduate of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, where he obtained a degree in Architecture and an honorary Doctor of Science award.
Controversy
Oyakhilome's statement about marriage has been a subject of controversy. He has come under strong criticism from Nigerians on social media over his religious views on gender equality. A Facebook post cited an excerpt of the clergyman's message titled "Who is a husband and what is his role?", in which husbands were defined as "masters" as opposed to "male partners". Oyakhilome's ex-wife, Anita, on 8 February finalised her divorce from Oyakhilome and dropped his last name for "Obhodaghe". Oyakhilome has also been a target of criticism by the Treatment Action Campaign for his support of faith healing as a supposed cure for HIV/AIDS, and his devotional Rhapsody of Realities has claimed tumors will disappear if rebuked. Oyakhilome has been accused of preaching the prosperity gospel and using his followers for money, stating that those who donate to his ministry will be rewarded with wealth, health and good luck. Oyakhilome also supports YouTube-propagated conspiracy theories about a "New World Order".
Writings
Oyakhilome is the author of several books, including Rhapsody of Realities, distributed monthly in several countries.
